Case over banner glorifying Mladić before the court: Decision pending on misdemeanour proceedings against eight people

The Bijelo Polje Misdemeanour Court, Kolašin Department, has yet to rule on a request by the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Kolašin to initiate misdemeanour proceedings against several people over the display of a banner glorifying convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.

President of the Bijelo Polje Misdemeanour Court, Vukajlo Smolović, told Portal ETV that a request to initiate misdemeanour proceedings had been submitted to the court, specifically to its Kolašin Department.

- The presiding judge will, pursuant to Article 155 of the Misdemeanours Act, examine whether the conditions for conducting misdemeanour proceedings have been met, after which a further decision will be made in accordance with the law - Smolović said.

As previously announced by the Kolašin Basic State Prosecutor’s Office, the request to initiate misdemeanour proceedings was filed against P. A., M. D., M. N., M. D., J. M., V. V., D. D. and B. M. over an alleged offence under the Law on the Protection of Equality and Prohibition of Discrimination.

- The aforementioned persons, on 3 September 2026 at around 10 p.m. in Kolašin, incited hatred and intolerance in the form of nationalism by displaying a banner reading „Eternal glory to you, General! The people of Kolašin“, dedicated to former General of the Army of Republika Srpska Ratko Mladić, who was finally convicted by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals for crimes committed against the non-Serb population. Information about the display of the banner was subsequently published by electronic media outlets - the prosecutor’s office said.

It should be recalled that Portal ETV was the first to publish a photograph showing several people holding up a banner in support of war criminal Mladić.